An estimated 500 Delta Air Lines employees have contracted the coronavirus over the course of the pandemic and ten have died from the disease, Delta CEO Ed Bastian said at a shareholder's meeting earlier this month, Newsweek reported.
“We have had approximately 500 employees that have tested positive for COVID-19,” Bastian said during the meeting. “The vast majority have recovered, thankfully. Unfortunately, we have lost 10 employees to the disease.”
The company stated that the number of employees who had contracted the virus was a small fraction of its 90,000 total employees.
A Delta spokesperson said: "since initial reporting in March, Delta has seen a significant reduction in positive employee COVID-19 tests and is currently tracking at a rate five times lower than the national average."
Earlier this month, Delta announced it would begin testing all employees for the coronavirus in partnership with Mayo Clinic and Quest Diagnostics. The project was initiated in Minneapolis, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported, and will be expanded to other cities.